Study shows that for value-based care, virtual alternatives are not always beneficial

A new telehealth study from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business found that virtual care did not significantly reduce costs, or the number of future visits to emergency rooms or specialists for circulatory, respiratory and infectious diseases. There is no shortage.

why it matters

Indranil Bardhan, Professor of Information, Risk and Operations Management at Utexus, and his co-authors, Sejgin Aybakan of Temple University and Zhiqiang ‘Eric’ Zheng of Utexus in Dallas, examine telehealth through the principle of process virtualization – replacing physical interactions. virtual ones.

Based on a study of patient visits to all hospital-based outpatient clinics in Maryland from 2012 to 2021, telehealth visits reduced the total number of future outpatient visits within 30 days of a telehealth encounter by 14% and reduced total outpatient visits by 14%. Saved $239 in patient costs. patients, the new study found.

But for heart or lung diseases, for example, virtual visits did not provide the same value.

“The effectiveness of telehealth really depends on the type of disease it’s used to treat,” Bardhan said in Wednesday’s announcement about the study, published in Information Systems Research.

In contrast, “patients with mental health, skin, metabolic, and musculoskeletal diseases who were treated via telehealth showed a significant reduction of 0.21 outpatient visits per quarter (equivalent cost reduction of $179) compared to traditional clinic visits.” suggests a substitution effect with respect to . , ”the authors said in the report abstract.

Bardhan said in the statement that the researchers hope that their recommendations for developing telehealth programs will enable more efficient use of resources “by encouraging health care professionals to focus telehealth on treating specific disease types and conditions.” where it can do best.”

big trend

Happy Kids, a six-clinic pediatric practice based in Phoenix, Arizona, saw significant losses in business during the COVID-19 pandemic and said it boosted VBC performance with telemedicine.

“Before the pandemic, we used to do an average of 1,800 to 2,000 visits per week. After integrating telehealth technology, we’re seeing about 2,600 patients per week, including about 600 virtual visits,” Dr. Jose Francisco Carrazco, founder of Happy Kids, told Healthcare IT News in November.

For years, telehealth proponents insisted that telehealth solved issues of access and revenue, and the pandemic proved it. But it didn’t work out well for Windrose Health Network, a federally qualified health center based in Greenwood, Indiana, near Indianapolis.

“Sometimes some very subtle things — and some very subtle things — can be missed during a telehealth visit,” Scott Rowlett, CEO of Windrose Health Network, told Healthcare IT News in 2021.

“As a general rule, patients who come to FQHC are sicker and more medically complex than the average American, so when those things are ignored, they can have much worse health consequences.” Are.”

On the record

“People believed telehealth would be the next big thing, the future of healthcare,” Bardhan said. “But our research shows that the effect is not as straightforward as people might think. It’s more subtle.”